On our recent wine and food
blitz of Italy, we hit quite a few great
restaurants in these two fantastic cities.
Here's the skinny:
.
A great choice for dinner, since there
is a rooftop restaurant with views facing
the Forum. Lit up at night, it’s
beautiful! On the elegant and pricey side.
– Via Borgognona 11, phone 06-679-5676.
Still very good after all these years
– even if it has gotten more touristy.
Don't miss the curry chicken, unusual
dish for Rome, but very good!
, Piazza Capranica
104, tel: 06-67 90 860. This is a little
wine bar and restaurant that we happened
upon for lunch one day. Noticed locals
dining on the patio and took that as a
good sign. We liked it so much, we went
back the next night for dinner.
Great wine list. Excellent food. Don't
miss the mussels starter (big heaping
bowl full in wonderful broth), the pizza,
or the lamb.
, Pantheon. This is my favorite
café at the Pantheon. The food is good
(if not great) – even for a tourist
spot, but mainly it’s the location/view/etc.
that makes me love it! The perfect place
to sip (okay, gulp) large quantities of
Frascati for hours on end.
, Frezzeria 1610,
tel: 041 5285242. Another "just stumbled
upon" place for us. It was raining
harder. It was lunchtime. This was the
first doorway we ducked into. Apparently
newly opened, and quite attractive. Really
tasty food, featuring several Venetian
specialties. We ordered the baccalá, a
Venetian specialty – sort of a fish
dip made with cod and cream. Sounds odd,
but really good. Good wine list, too!
(They do take reservations, though we
were able to just walk in for lunch.)
, Campo San
Stefano 2801, tel: 041.5209003 –
Owned by the same people who own Acqua
Pazza (below). I had one of the best fish
dishes of my life here. Naturally, it
was off the menu. Some special Sicilian
(I think) fish that was steamed and served
with mint.
, Campo Sant’Angelo
3808, tel: 041 2770688 – Huge and
really good pizzas. Also a wonderful Insalata
Caprese (with the buffalo mozzarella,
tomatoes, and basil), easily enough for
2 or more people. Everything around us
looked good, too! Don't miss the house-made
Limoncello, but skip dessert. The service
is a little brusque, but not really rude.
(Reservations are a good idea here!)
, Rialto
Calle dei Bombaseri 5094/A, tel: 041.5200150
– Our hotel recommended this place
for great fish, and they were right. It’s
the restaurant of a hotel, near the Rialto.
Here’s the website (http://www.graspodeua.com/)
Not the easiest place to find, but worth
it! There are signs to it, so keep looking
for them! A little pricey, but again --
worth it! And filled with important-seeming
locals, whoever they were. The service
was so nice, and the meal was incredible.
Great risotto, wine list, fish and more
fish. And great desserts, too, if you’re
in the mood! We had this layered meringue
mousse cake that was incredible.
(august 2002)
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here for an index of our previous reviews!
